2:00PM Water Cooler 3/22/2024 | bare capitalism

By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Fowl Music of the Day

American Robin (migratorius Group), Miguel Hidalgo, Ciudad de México, Mexico.

In Case You Would possibly Miss…

(1) Extra Boeing shenanigans, as Barnett’s assassination is progressively memory-holed.

(2) Intermittent fasting decried.

(3) “Now we have the instruments.

Politics

“So most of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are the truth is a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

2024

Lower than a yr to go!

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Trump (R): “Why nobody will lend to Trump” [Edward Luce, Financial Times]. Sorry for the prolonged quote, however there’s quite a bit right here. “For Donald Trump, it could not be seven occasions a attraction. His first six bankruptcies all befell earlier than he went into politics. Most of those occurred in two phases: within the early Nineties after he had over-extended on a clutch of Atlantic Metropolis casinos, then on numerous properties earlier than and after the 2008 crash. America’s Chapter 11 chapter safety obtained him out of bother. Since then, Trump has largely made cash by licensing his model title. However there is no such thing as a straightforward means out from the $454mn that he owes in damages to the New York authorized system. In contrast to banks, the regulation doesn’t take haircuts. There may be nothing to cease Trump from being broke and profitable the White Home. He already had that historical past of chapter when he received in 2016. However his monetary woes create two novel complications — one for him, and one for America. For Trump, it undermines his fame for being wealthy, which he and his base worth extremely. Revisions to his web price lower it from the $10bn he claimed in 2016 to $2.6bn on Forbes’ newest estimate. However these are educated guesses. As a non-public firm, the Trump Group doesn’t disclose its liabilities. Even when that quantity proves appropriate, most of his wealth is locked up in illiquid belongings, mainly actual property comparable to his landmark towers in New York and the golf golf equipment. The prospect of bailiffs seizing all of the bling they may discover from Mar-a-Lago would give schadenfreude to thousands and thousands. It might additionally deal a blow to Trump’s thought of himself. He was raised on the prosperity gospel that claims your wealth is a measure of your ethical price. To the Maga base, Trump’s wealth can be a yardstick of his crafty. Trump is estimated to have inherited the equal at this time of $413mn from his father, Fred Trump. 1 / 4 of a century after Trump Sr’s loss of life, his son appears unable to cowl roughly that quantity. A few of Trump’s supporters are puzzled that he has not but been bailed out by one among his rich donors. The reply is that he has a historical past of not paying what he owes. From the world’s largest banks to America’s smallest contractors, Trump is professional at stiffing collectors. That’s not to say the class-action winners of those that paid exorbitant charges to review at Trump College, the dissolution of the Trump household’s charitable basis for a ‘surprising sample of illegality’, and the truth that roughly $50mn in Trump 2024 marketing campaign funds has gone to pay his authorized payments. Trump’s donors desire his insurance policies to these of Joe Biden, who has vowed a billionaire tax in his second time period. Of their private dealings, nevertheless, they appear to validate the previous New York mayor Michael Bloomberg’s view that with Trump he is aware of ‘a con after I see one.’ All of which makes Trump extra of a legal responsibility to America. As each spy company is aware of, probably the most at-risk workers are those that are closely in debt. Presidential candidates are provided intelligence briefings throughout the election. Trump is dealing with a much-postponed trial for allegedly secreting troves of extremely labeled materials at Mar-a-Lago. It doesn’t take nice deductive talent to see that Trump’s monetary quandary poses a nationwide safety danger. If insurance coverage firms and pleasant billionaires assume he’s too huge a credit score danger, who would possibly assist him out as an alternative? What kind of collateral may Trump supply in return? Even by America’s latest requirements, this creates a brand new type of headache.” • NC commenter DCBlogger informed me, way back, pre-2016, that the one factor that might take Trump down can be proof that he was not wealthy. And now evidently Trump faces one thing akin to a capital strike, along with already dealing with knowledgeable companies strike. As for Luce’s psychological studying of the American voters, I’m not so positive. (“Prosperity gospel” is preached by a very noxious American Protestant sect; Trump’s childhood minister was Norman Vincent Peale, additionally noxious however not a member of that sect.) “Trump was wealthy till crooked Democrats stole all his cash” is one type of cope that may assist, significantly for the aggrieved who really feel that what they worth has been taken by Democrats as properly. “So what, if Trump is the one to most harm the system” is one other.” We’ll see. 2024 is actually not with out curiosity or drama!

Trump (R): “Cannon’s jury instruction order may crush Jack Smith’s case” [MSNBC]. “[R]ecall that the decide’s newest transfer comes in opposition to the backdrop of Trump’s declare that, beneath the Presidential Data Act, he may have deemed no matter delicate authorities data he wished to as ‘private’ after which taken them with him from the White Home, precluding the federal government from prosecuting him over the retention. It’s a nonsensical place that Cannon may have rejected outright, however she selected to carry a listening to on it final week. And now, in an order Monday, she informed the events to submit proposed jury directions associated to the fees alleging that Trump unlawfully retained nationwide protection data. (The order doesn’t handle the obstruction-related counts.) The Presidential Data Act [PRA] shouldn’t issue into figuring out whether or not Trump’s conduct was legal, however Cannon’s order nonetheless laid out two “competing situations” for the prosecution and the protection as they vogue their proposals.” • Unlikely as it could appear, and topic to correction by those that have really mastered this materials, MSNBC might be proper. Since Trump is being charged beneath the Espionage Act (that comes with its personal set of issues), it’s exhausting to see the relevance of the PRA. An explainer; the Act (whose definitions web page contains “private”).

Trump (R): “Turley: I Can’t See How You Can Decline To Cost Biden And Go Ahead On Expenses Towards Trump On Categorised Docs” [RealClearPolitics]. “[Special Prosecutor Hur] talked about how Biden informed somebody that he discovered labeled paperwork in his basement, learn from a few of these paperwork to a 3rd celebration; how proof was destroyed by this ghostwriter when it comes to an audiotape. How the White Home intervened to attempt to get information eliminated to border the report in a sequence of contradictions of not simply what Joe Biden has mentioned previously however what he mentioned after the interview. And so you might be left right here considering wow this was pretty much as good of a case I may think about and Hur mentioned look, I simply don’t assume given his diminished psychological colleges that we may assure or have a certainty or probability of conviction. Now, one can settle for that as a result of I’ve obtained to let you know, Hur got here off as extremely credible {and professional}. The issue is the opposite disconnect with the Trump case. I can’t see how you can decline these expenses and, but, go ahead on the labeled paperwork expenses in opposition to Trump. And, after all, you might have two totally different particular counsels. However, that distinction is extra obvious at this time than it has ever been.” • Properly, presumably, in the event you settle for Hur’s logic, as a result of Trump’s psychological colleges are usually not diminished (despite the fact that some Democrats are actually, copycat-style, claiming that they’re).

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Biden (D): “Biden’s lawfare joke” [Washington Examiner]. “No legal trial has begun, however the swarm of Democratic authorized actions has already price Trump dearly. After all, that was the thought, or at the very least a part of the thought. And it’s one thing that Biden himself not directly acknowledged in a latest speech. It occurred in Washington on the Gridiron Dinner, a elaborate white-tie gathering of main media figures and the highest politicians they cowl. Biden delivered a speech that was half comedy routine and half inspirational speak to his media base. And it is a joke Biden informed, in response to information accounts: Ha ha ha. The media viewers, after all, laughed. With one joke, Biden acknowledged the work his celebration’s lawfare warriors have finished within the Trump matter. And the way may Biden not be grateful? He’s trailing Trump within the polls, is dealing with an voters that largely believes he’s too outdated for a second time period, and is underwater in approval rankings for his dealing with of most points. Little doubt Biden’s joke about bankrupting Trump displays his satisfaction that the lawfare effort is beginning to work. However Biden needs extra. In February, Politico reported that Biden has ‘grumbled to aides and advisers that had [Attorney General Merrick] Garland moved sooner in his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s election interference, a trial might already be underway and even have concluded.’” • The joke is definitely fairly humorous; however the lawfare is just not a joke in any respect. Might we charactertize the Biden marketing campaign as a “complete of presidency” strategy? Pondering again to RussiaGate; it’s one factor to throw pork round in an election yr; it’s fairly one other to get the organs of state safety concerned, not merely in guarding the candidates, however with tales planted or suppressed within the press, having them authenticate elections, and so forth (one superb purpose for hand-marked paper ballots, hand-counted in public, is to get the spooks out of that enterprise solely. I imply, you may see it: “9 of seventeen intelligence businesses assess [hate that word] that the Presidential election of 2024 was ____ in ___ states [insert swing states here].”)

Biden (D): “Tony Bobulinski: Joe Biden Was ‘the Model’” [Wall Street Journal]. Written testimony of Tony Bobulinski earlier than the Home Oversight and Accountability Committee: “I need to be crystal clear: From my direct private expertise and what I’ve subsequently come to be taught, it’s clear to me that Joe Biden was ‘the Model’; being offered by the Biden household. His household’s international affect peddling operation—from China to Ukraine and elsewhere—offered out to international actors who had been in search of to achieve affect and entry to Joe Biden and the USA authorities. Joe Biden was greater than a participant in and beneficiary of his household’s enterprise; he was an energetic, conscious enabler who met with enterprise associates comparable to myself to additional the enterprise, regardless of being buffered by a fancy scheme to keep up believable deniability.” • My metaphor for a way the Biden clan operates is as follows (and it’s very totally different from the “complicated scheme” utilized by the Clinton’s. There’s a “Biden River” with many many tributaries, massive and small. In the event you “contribute” to a tributary, regardless of how a lot or how little, or how far upstream or down, your contribution finally flows into Biden Lake (having gone by means of a fancy of locks and canals and dams (like heaps and plenty of financial institution accounts and enterprise entities, and Biden members of the family making numerous mysterious loans to one another). Despite the fact that your contribution to Biden River is combined in with the circulate of all the opposite contributions, however you’ll later be permitted to dip into Biden Lake (having handed some type of inspection to find out the quantity of your authentic contribution)

Biden (D): “Biden Has Huge Marketing campaign Money Lead Over Trump as Common Election Begins” [Wall Street Journal]. “Trump has retained a slight benefit in polls in battleground states, the place skinny margins will seemingly determine who wins the presidency in November. Cash additionally doesn’t essentially equal assured victory; Hillary Clinton bested Trump within the 2016 cash race however nonetheless misplaced the White Home. And Trump’s fundraising is prone to choose up now that he has changed the management on the RNC and shaped a joint-fundraising committee. Nonetheless, Biden’s fundraising benefit lays naked the dangers that Trump has going into spring and summer time, when he’ll settle for his celebration’s nomination on the Republican Nationwide Conference. His monetary well being may also replicate the phase of Republicans who say they are going to refuse to vote for Trump even when he had been the nominee, in response to surveys of GOP major voters by AP VoteCast. Whereas the Biden group reported including $25 million to its complete money holdings in February, Trump’s money—throughout the marketing campaign account, the RNC and two PACs—elevated by $9.2 million.” • Useful chart:

Biden (D): “Biden SHOULD be offended and anxious — his re-election prospects stink” [Rich Lowry, New York Post]. “[A] loss to Trump would immediately vaporize what was to be Biden’s most vital legacy — stopping Trump and supposedly saving American democracy. On his phrases, Biden can’t afford to go one-for-two on this endeavor. Historical past isn’t often type to one-term presidents. A defeat can be significantly unhealthy for Biden. It might expose his resolution to run once more for president at age 81, when he’s visibly in decline, as a historic blunder ensuing from selfishness and an utter lack of realism. It’d develop into plain that his choose of Kamala Harris, which helped maintain Democrats from pushing for him to step apart, was a horrible mistake, and Democrats can be prepared to say so. In brief, given the non-public and political stakes for Biden and the way daunting the panorama seems to be in the intervening time, Biden can be well-advised to be offended and anxious — very offended and anxious.” • I nonetheless preserve that given the extremely weak Democrat bench, Biden was your best option (and from the purely celebration perspective, a brokered conference can be a superb final result for grandees and apparatchiks, as a result of their energy (a few of them, at the very least) can be enhanced, whether or not or not their candidate received. In some methods, that was the lesson of Clinton’s dropping marketing campaign in 2016; actually key components of the Clinton equipment — press, spooks, celebration apparatchiks, newly class-conscious PMC — emerged from the debacle with powers enhanced, not diminished).

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Kennedy (I): “Who’s afraid of RFK?” [The Hill]. “[Kennedy is] polling at a gentle 15 % common nationally, and even higher in some essential states. He’s performing significantly robust with key demographics like Black and Latino voters, in addition to younger voters — even beating each Biden and Trump in some polls in that class. ‘It appears clear that in any of those battleground states the place the margins are going to be skinny, the extra candidates within the race, the more serious for Biden,’ Tom Bevan, founding father of RealClearPolitics, informed me. ‘Some extent or two within the huge six battleground states may make the distinction, relying on the place they make the poll.’ (Trump edges Biden within the RCP common in a two-way race, however he performs even higher when RFK is included.) ‘Making the poll’ is a key aspect to this. Proper now, , and getting shut in one other 15 or so. However that’s not going to make the seismic affect he needs, or wants. So take note of what occurs over the subsequent two months. ‘A part of the rationale he’s selecting a working mate now’s that some states don’t enable a presidential candidate on the poll and not using a working mate,’ Chris Stirewalt, host of ‘The Hill Sunday,’ informed me. ‘With the Libertarian nomination, he would have the prospect to give attention to campaigning. With out it, he will probably be essentially centered on poll entry greater than anything.’” • Not a foul factor, if the truth is RFK organizes a mass signature-gathering effort (run by his personal group not outsourced to petition gatherers), a la “Clear for Gene” in 1968.

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Democrats en Déshabillé

“Why Democrats Are Dropping Their Grip on Latino Voters” [Wall Street Journal]. “As long as Democrats had been seen because the celebration of the working class, they may financial institution on profitable massive Hispanic majorities. The issue Joe Biden and his celebration face this yr is rising numbers of Hispanics and different nonwhite working-class voters view Democrats as out of contact. White voters and not using a school diploma have been quitting the Democratic Occasion in earnest for the reason that Obama presidency. Democrats didn’t anticipate to see Hispanics observe, however that’s what has occurred. To the shock of most political observers, the pattern accelerated because of Donald Trump. Democrats carried the Hispanic vote by 38 factors in 2016. By 2020 that margin had shrunk to 21 factors, and amongst Hispanic males it was all the way down to 17 factors. ‘In 2020, Democrats assumed that they might simply win the Hispanic vote in opposition to a president with a historical past of vitriolic statements in opposition to Mexico and Mexican Individuals and hostility towards unlawful immigration,’ Mr. Judis and Mr. Teixeira write. As an alternative, Mr. Trump carried out considerably higher amongst Latinos than he had 4 years earlier. Few predict that the GOP will win a majority of the Latino vote this November, however these inroads have good Democrats terrified.” • After all, the Democrats may all the time do one thing like move a 32-hour work week; however at finest, they’ll handle not to move it, on account of a “revolving villain” (Manchin; Sinema); the filibuster; the Senate Parliamentarian; and, in all instances, these darn Republicans! However vote for us, as a result of we’re “preventing for”!

#COVID19

“I’m in earnest — I cannot equivocate — I cannot excuse — I cannot retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison

Assets, United States (Nationwide): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; contains many counties; Wastewater Scan, contains drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, however nationwide knowledge). “An infection Management, Emergency Administration, Security, and Common Ideas” (particularly on hospitalization by metropolis).

Lambert right here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To replace any entry, do be at liberty to contact me on the handle given with the vegetation. Please put “COVID” within the topic line. Thanks!

Assets, United States (Native): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater studies); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).

Assets, Canada (Nationwide): Wastewater (Authorities of Canada).

Assets, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tricks to useful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, sq. coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Keep secure on the market!

Vaccines

“An intranasal mixture vaccine induces systemic and mucosal immunity in opposition to COVID-19 and influenza” [Nature]. Since CDC threw Covid and the flu into the identical bucket, the vaccine trade responded, which I’m effective with if it really works. Mouse examine. From the Summary: “Regardless of extended surveillance and interventions, the extreme acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza viruses proceed to pose a extreme world well being burden. Thus, we developed a chimpanzee adenovirus-based mixture vaccine, AdC68-HATRBD, with twin specificity in opposition to SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus. When used as a standalone vaccine, intranasal immunization with AdC68-HATRBD induced complete and potent immune responses consisting of immunoglobin (Ig) G, mucosal IgA, neutralizing antibodies, and reminiscence T cells, which protected the mice from BA.5.2 and pandemic H1N1 infections. When used as a heterologous booster, AdC68-HATRBD markedly improved the protecting immune response of the licensed SARS-CoV-2 or influenza vaccine. Due to this fact, whether or not administered intranasally as a standalone or booster vaccine, this mixture vaccine is a beneficial technique to boost the general vaccine efficacy by inducing sturdy systemic and mucosal immune responses, thereby conferring twin strains of immunological defenses for these two viruses.”

An infection

No, Covid is just not “over.” Biobot’s year-on-year chart:

(That is an alternative choice to the Biobot chart I exploit, “Whole Outcomes,” which I desire as a result of it provides the historical past of the pandemic at a look. The information is identical.)

“Gentle” signs:

These “gentle signs” you consult with…

…that cough, runny nostril or sore throat…

These are the preliminary signs of extremely infectious ailments like Covid, measles, whooping cough.

The recommendation to ship children to highschool with these signs is extremely irresponsible. pic.twitter.com/8RjM270wsL

— Cat within the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧 (@_CatintheHat) March 22, 2024

Sequelae

“GoPros, gummies, reckless abandon: Why ski slopes are getting extra harmful” [Los Angeles Times]. “However former ski patrollers, emergency medical technicians and hospital workers in mountain cities confirmed they’re seeing an increase in accidents — and place the blame on a number of major elements. One is a rising recklessness on the slopes that , habits usually exacerbated by individuals ingesting pot gummies, magic mushrooms or copious quantities of alcohol earlier than hitting the slopes.” • Lack of government operate.

Coverage

“We Had the Instruments” [The Guiness Pig Diaries]. From 2023, nonetheless germane, and value studying in full. The character names (“like Common Supervisor Tim”) are from a superb prolonged metaphor of a ironmongery store: “[A] authorities or well being officers [will say we have the tools to deal with Covid-19. No we don’t. We had the tools. All we have now are the memories of those tools. We (and by we, I mean collectively, societally we) blew it. We threw the tools away. We traded them in for something we believed was so much better. Why? Because the very leaders we are supposed to trust to look out for our best interests, like General Manager Tim, told us to. They gave us permission. They told us it was more important to get back to normal than to rely on those tools. So many who heard that message took it and ran with it. Like Liz, they twisted it into something much more extreme to fit their own agendas. Not only are masks not required in public anymore, they’re now banned in some places because they remind people that Covid is still a threat, and that’s bad for the economy. Wearing one has become so stigmatized it can get you harassed or assaulted. And then there’s remote work. Not only is it discouraged, it is shamed. There are message campaigns circulating throughout the media about how remote work is bad for productivity, bad for teamwork, bad for the health of remote workers. Speaking of messaging, we don’t have ANY consistent, trustworthy messaging to inform our decisions about Covid anymore. We have ‘you do you.’ Which is essentially the ‘customer is always right’ mantra in the world of Covid. Believe whatever the fuck you want, do whatever the fuck you want, and regardless of the consequences for yourself or others, no one can hold you accountable. No one can tell you that you’re wrong. This is now a DIY pandemic. Good luck. When we discovered that there were consequences to sh*tting all over our tools and throwing them away, we wanted them back, like Josh. Covid patients who ended up fighting for their lives in the hospital would beg for the vaccine that they had loudly and proudly refused before they got sick. People who thought vaccines were all they needed to stay well refused to continue masking. Then they found themselves ill with Covid and begged for treatments like monoclonal antibodies, which stopped working a long time ago as variants evolved to escape them. We played dumb when reminded that experts had cautioned us this would happen. We insisted we did everything right. We pretended to be victims when we knew better. We can’t get a lot of those tools back now. It’s too late.”

Manufacturing: “Barnett – First Amended Criticism 5-4-21_Redacted” [Scribd]. A random choice: “[The late Boeing whistleblower John] Barnett regularly insisted on the correct procedures being adopted. Barnett complained about . Usually, the mechanic would come to work to seek out that the components s/he put in the day earlier than had been gone. Higher Administration ignored the stolen components downside and insisted that Barnett cease documenting them in e-mails and on CA’s (corrective motion EPDs). All corrective motion EPD’s for stolen components had been cancelled per Management route with none investigation or corrective motion. (Ethics hast he data).” • Uploaded by Stay 5 Information, and not the prize-winning native paper, the Submit and Courier, which hasn’t run one single story on Barnett’s assassination loss of life for the reason that authentic story on March 13. Little doubt their crack workers is ready on the police report, however when the native paper maintains full radio silence, that makes me fear the repair is in on the police division. I imply, couldn’t they at the very least have run a human curiosity story on Barnett’s household?

Manufacturing: “Boeing Confirms Disappointing Replace on 737 Max Engine Difficulty” [MSN]. “Within the newest chapter of Boeing’s ongoing saga, the aerospace large faces a big setback with its 737 Max sequence. An engine subject will sideline the fleet for as much as a yr, additional delaying the certification of the eagerly awaited 737 Max 7s and Max 10s fashions…. [A] glitch within the 737 Max’s anti-ice system, which poses a danger of overheating and damaging the engine. Regardless of the potential severity of the problem, the airplane manufacturing large assures that it has by no means occurred in flight. Nevertheless, the theoretical danger of elements breaking off mid-air has prompted a swift and critical response…. The corporate’s earlier estimates had set the restore timeframe at 9 to 12 months. This restore work isn’t just a matter of changing components however entails a deeper understanding of the engine’s air consumption dynamics and its broader implications on plane efficiency and security…. The ramifications of the engine subject lengthen past technical repairs. Certification delays for the 737 Max 7s and Max 10s affect Boeing’s timeline and have an effect on main airways’ operational plans. As an example, Southwest Airways, with its all-737 fleet, has needed to revise its 2024 capability projections and earnings forecasts in gentle of those delays.” • That is the problem the place pilots needed to remind themselves to show off the anti-ice system in time with a sticky observe on their instrument panel.

Manufacturing: “Boeing in ‘final likelihood saloon’, warns Emirates head” [Financial Times]. We already linked to this, however to strengthen: “[Emirates Airline President] Sir Tim Clark informed the Monetary Instances he had seen a “progressive decline” in Boeing’s requirements, which he put all the way down to long-running administration and governance mis-steps, together with prioritising monetary efficiency over engineering excellence….. Clark mentioned Boeing’s earlier administration had made repeated mis-steps, together with outsourcing components of its manufacturing and transferring components of its 787 manufacturing to South Carolina to chop prices following battles with unions at its major base north of Seattle, Washington. Boeing finally moved all of its 787 manufacturing to South Carolina in 2021 however the website has struggled with manufacturing challenges. Clark mentioned Boeing had misplaced ‘expertise and competencies’ by means of the transfer.” • When the Emirates President says it’s union-busting….

Manufacturing: “Boeing’s huge inexperienced catastrophe” [Heated]. “The 737-Max was not the aircraft Boeing initially supposed to make. In 2011, the corporate introduced it was planning to develop a completely new aircraft to interchange its growing old and fuel-guzzling 737 fleet. This new, extra fuel-efficient aircraft would price billions of {dollars} and take practically a decade to make. However Boeing’s then-CEO mentioned it could be price it. ‘It’s our judgment that our prospects will watch for us,’ he mentioned. Shortly after that announcement, nevertheless, Boeing’s CEO was confirmed mistaken. The corporate’s unique buyer, American Airways, introduced it was defecting to Boeing’s rival aircraft producer, Airbus. And Airbus was not making new planes–it was placing new, extra fuel-efficient engines on outdated planes. So with a purpose to compete, Boeing shortly scrapped its plan. As an alternative, it too determined to place new engines on outdated planes. The 737 Max was born. From a sustainability perspective, Boeing’s change in route was disappointing, mentioned [Dan Rutherford, an aviation and sustainability expert with the International Council on Clean Transportation]. Whereas the extra fuel-efficient plane engines had been higher for the planet than the older ones, a brand new aircraft, he mentioned, would have delivered way more advantages. ‘In the event you take a look at the applied sciences that can be utilized to enhance the gas effectivity and cut back emissions for plane, it’s mainly three huge buckets,; he mentioned. Producers may have made the airframe lighter by utilizing light-weight supplies, improved the aerodynamics of the aircraft to scale back drag, and added extra superior engines. That ‘clean-sheet design’, because it’s recognized by the trade, would have used much less gas and produced much less emissions. A brand new aircraft would even have been safer, each in design and since pilots would have been required to coach on the brand new plane. However a brand new design would have price Boeing and the airways far more cash. So whereas the technique might have been good for short-term revenue, in the end, ‘Boeing’s technique was unhealthy for the surroundings and for shoppers,’ Rutherford mentioned…. And as soon as accidents and tragedies started to plague the 737 Max—largely as a result of the brand new engines compromised the aerodynamics of the aircraft [for which the disastrous MCAS system was a kludge]—the corporate’s sustainability advertising soared additional.” • Due to course it did.

As we speak’s Concern & Greed Index: 72 Greed (earlier shut: 74 Greed) [CNN]. One week in the past: 72 (Greed). (0 is Excessive Concern; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Mar 22 at 12:56:25 PM ET.

Holier than Thou

“Christian group is ‘luring’ college students with free pizza at lunch, Clovis mother and father say” [Fresno Bee]. “Three mother and father with youngsters attending Reyburn Intermediate and Clovis East Excessive faculties mentioned their youngsters had been provided free pizza to go to the lecture corridor in teams of three to 5 throughout their lunch interval. Upon arrival, mother and father mentioned a consultant from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes meets with college students. After praying and listening to about Christianity, mother and father mentioned college students then obtain their free pizza in yellow bins. “I really feel that they’re doing mistaken,” one father or mother with a pupil at Clovis East informed The Fresno Bee. “They’re mainly luring in children which can be beneath 18, which can be nonetheless looking for themselves and are nonetheless making an attempt to discover.” The mother and father who spoke to The Bee requested to stay nameless, fearing retaliation in opposition to them or their youngsters. In addition they mentioned they weren’t notified by way of electronic mail, textual content, permission slip or requested for his or her consent for the FCA to strategy their youngsters.”

Groves of Academe

“Larry Summers was ousted as Harvard president. He has quite a bit to say about what’s mistaken with the college now” [Boston Globe]. Hilarity ensues. “It’s a extremely uncommon breach of protocol for a former school president to overtly undercut his successors and denounce his longtime educational residence. And observers observe the irony of Summers lecturing college leaders on public diplomacy whereas he was pressured to step down as president after alienating Black students and suggesting ladies are innately inferior at science and math.” Mind genius Summers additionally misplaced the endowment $1.8 billion. Let’s not neglect that! Extra: “Referred to as a superb economist and a prime financial adviser to the Clinton and Obama administrations _{MR SUBLIMINAL ScammersMR SUBLIMINAL ScammersMR SUBLIMINAL Scammers}, Summers has by no means been shy about providing his opinion, whether or not publicly or behind the scenes, at Harvard and different organizations with which he’s concerned.” Summers criticism: “Now we have stepped away from benefit and excellence.” • I believe that’s a good criticism. What is just not glorious about setting $1.8 billion on hearth and throwing it up within the air?

Healthcare

“Intermittent fasting linked to 91% enhance in danger of loss of life from coronary heart illness, examine says” [Fortune (Furzy Mouse)]. “The protection of intermittent fasting, a preferred technique to reduce weight by limiting meals consumption to sure occasions, was referred to as into query by a shock discovering from analysis introduced at a medical assembly. Limiting mealtimes to a interval of simply eight hours a day was linked to a 91% enhance in danger of loss of life from coronary heart illness within the examine, which was launched on Monday in Chicago. The American Coronary heart Affiliation revealed solely an summary, leaving scientists speculating about particulars of the examine protocol. The examine was reviewed by different consultants previous to its launch, in response to the AHA. Way of life interventions geared toward weight reduction have come beneath scrutiny as a brand new technology of medication assist individuals shed kilos. Some medical doctors questioned the examine’s findings, saying they may have been skewed by variations — comparable to underlying coronary heart well being — between the fasting sufferers and the comparability group, whose members consumed meals over a day by day interval of 12 to 16 hours.” • I initially misinterpret the headline to indicate lower, not enhance, so I’m actually working this in case that occurs to anyone else. That mentioned: Thumbs down on a narrative pushed from a convention summary. And thumbs up on the dreaded way of life change, versus Massive Pharma’s newest. At the least in my expertise, consuming much less — particularly fewer sweets — actually does trigger weight reduction, therefore elevated agility, basic feeling of health. Readers might differ of their views. Limitless are the arguments of dieticians!

(“Evil” is robust language — and used appropriately on this case.) NOTE Yeah, yeah, China. We’re none of us excellent.

Information of the Wired

Derek Man on males’s clothes is one among my responsible pleasures on the Twitter:

Contact data for vegetation: Readers, be at liberty to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn how to ship me a test if you’re allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn how to ship me pictures of vegetation. Greens are effective! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary vegetation! If you would like your deal with to look as a credit score, please place it in the beginning of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize by utilizing your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From TH:

TH writes: “I’m not constructive, however I imagine it is a camelia. It, like so a lot of my latest submissions, lives on the Sherman Library and Gardens (Corona Del Mar, Newport Seaside, California).”

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Right here is the display that may seem, which I’ve helpfully annotated:

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